Jay Z addresses accusations of anti-semitism

"Of course I know Jewish people don’t own all the property in the world"

In the TIDAL video series, Footnotes, Jay Z has been doing a deep dive into his latest album 4:44. In a segment of an interview, the rapper addressed a controversy that’s attracting claims of anti-semitism.

Jay-Z told Rap Radar hosts Elliott Wilson and Brian “B.Dot” Miller about the track ‘The Story of O.J.’ and the controversy surrounding some of its lyrics.

The lines the drew backlash were: “You wanna know what’s more important than throwin’ away money at a strip club? Credit/ You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America? This how they did it.”

The lyrics even pulled a statement from the Anti-Defamation League who condemned Jay Z for his lyrics that could “feed into preconceived notions about Jews and alleged Jewish ‘control’ of the banks and finance.”

Jay Z explained to Rap Radar that the song “exaggerated every black image in the world” and he meant for his representation of Jewish people to also be an exaggeration.

The rapper explained: “Of course I know Jewish people don’t own all the property in the world. I mean, I own things! [laughs] It was an exaggeration, much like that racist cartoon.”

In the same interview, the rapper also discussed the infamous elevator fight between him and Solange. Video footage from the lift showed the singer tussling with Jay-Z. “We’ve always had a great relationship,” he said. “We’ve had one disagreement. Before and after, we’ve been cool.”